Taking varves to bits: Scanning electron microscopy in the study of laminated sediments and varves

Conventional high resolution studies of varved sediments are able to identify clastic and biogenic laminae, but are often unable to resolve the nature of fine-scale lamination contained therein. This intra-annual signal provides us with the highest potential resolution from the sedimentary record and can be resolved using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Six case studies from lacustrine and marine settings are presented to illustrate the combination of clastic and biogenic fabric types typically found in laminated sediments. Clastic laminae fabrics include those which originate through grain settling and those which are event deposits. The correct identification of event deposits is essential if varves are to be used chronologically. SEM-based biogenic laminae fabric studies have identified seasonal faunal successions where individual laminae may be less than 100 thick and most recently, deep chlorophyll maxima (DCM) summer diatom floras, providing an insight into seasonal scale processes. High resolution lamina fabric studies can provide a basis for generating records of seasonal and inter-annual variability, thus contributing to our understanding of lacustrine and marine processes and palaeoenvironmental interpretation.     

Ostracode δ18O and δ13C evidence of Holocene environmental changes in the sediments of two Minnesota lakes

Stable oxygen and carbon isotope geochemistry of ostracode valves, abundance and assemblages of ostracode species, and sedimentological parameters from cores taken in Williams and Shingobee Lakes in north-central Minnesota show changes in climatic and hydrologic history during the Holocene. Isotopic records are consistent with the following scenario:Before 9800 yr B.P. the two lakes were connected. Increasing evaporation through the jack/red pine period (9800-7700 yr B.P.) led to lower lake levels, leaving small separated basins. The prairie period (7700-4000 yr B.P.) reflects high aridity, and lake levels reached low stands shortly before 6500 yr B.P. Low lake levels are associated with groundwater discharge between 6500 and 6000 yr B.P. The hardwood period (4000-3200 yr B.P.) corresponds to long cold winters and warm to cool summers with lower evaporation rates and slower sedimentation. During the white pine period (<3200 yr B.P.) evaporation increased and/or precipitation shifted to the summer months.These changes can be related to shifting atmospheric circulation patterns. Zonal flow was probably dominant during the early Holocene until the end of the prairie period (c. 4000 yr B.P.). During the hardwood period a combination of zonal and meridional flow patterns caused long and cold winters and wetter summers. During the white pine period wintners were shorter and the meridional flow pattern more significant. Today meridional flow dominates the circulation pattern.This is the 6th in a series of papers published in this special AMQUA issue. These papers were presented at the 1994 meeting of the American Quaternary Association held 19–22 June, 1994, at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Dr Linda C. K. Shane served as guest editor for these papers.     

The medieval warm period on the southern Colorado Plateau

Several questions concerning the Medieval Warm Period (MWP), an interval (A.D. 900 to 1300) of elevated temperatures first identified in northern Europe, are addressed with paleoenvironmental and archaeological data from the southern Colorado Plateau in the southwestern United States. Low and high frequency variations in alluvial groundwater levels, floodplain aggradation and degradation, effective moisture, dendroclimate, and human adaptive behavior fail to exhibit consistent patterns that can be attributed to either global or regional expressions of the MWP. There is some suggestion, however, that climatic factors related to the MWP may have modified the regional patterns to produce minor anomalies in variables such as the number of intense droughts, the occurrence of specific droughts in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the prevalence of low temporal variability in dendroclimate, and the coherence of some low and high frequency environmental variables and aspects of human adaptive behavior. These results suggest that the MWP does not represent warming throughout the world. Rather, it was a complex phenomenon that probably was expressed differently in different regions.     

浙西饱和红黏土的物理力学特性试验研究

本文在分析浙西红黏土矿物成分与化学成分的基础上,分别用单向固结仪和三轴仪对饱和红黏土原状样进行了一系列的压缩、剪切、蠕变试验,得到其压缩曲线、应力-应变曲线和蠕变曲线。根据测得的压缩曲线,确定了该土的压缩指数Cc、回弹指数Cs,对原状样压缩曲线的归一化整理后判断出原状饱和红黏土的结构性不强;根据三轴排水剪切试验结果,得出原状饱和红黏土在不同围压下因结构性的存在土体具有不同的破坏应力比,计算得到该土的临界状态应力比和黏聚力;根据原状饱和红黏土在不同固结压力下的蠕变试验结果,得到了该土的次固结系数Cα与固结压力关系,并确定了该土的Cα/Cc约为0.0124,本试验结果为浙西地区的工程建设提供了基本参数。     

Erosional equivalences of levees: Steady and intermittent wave overtopping

Present criteria for acceptable grass covered levee overtopping are based on average overtopping values but do not include the effect of overtopping duration. This paper applies experimental steady state results for acceptable overtopping to the case of intermittent wave overtopping. Laboratory results consisting of velocities and durations for acceptable land side levee erosion due to steady flows are examined to determine the physical basis for the erosion. Three bases are examined: (1) velocity above a threshold value, (2) shear stress above a threshold value, and (3) work above a threshold value. The work basis provides the best agreement with the data and a threshold work value and a work index representing the summation of the product of work above the threshold and time are developed. The governing equations for flow down the land side of a levee establish that the flows near the land side levee toe will be supercritical. Wave runup is considered to be Rayleigh distributed with the runup above the levee crest serving as a surrogate for overtopping. Two examples illustrating application of the methodology are presented. Example 1 considers three qualities of grass cover: good, average, and poor. The required levee elevations for these three covers differ by 1.8 m. The results for Example 1 are compared with the empirical criteria of 0.1 liters per second per meter (l/s per m), 1.0  l/s per m, and 10.0  l/s per m. It is found that the required crest elevation by the methodology recommended herein for the “poor” cover is only slightly lower than for the criterion for average overtopping of q=10.0  l/s per m but significantly lower than for the overtopping criterion of 1.0 and 0.1 m/s per m. Example 2 considers two durations of the peak surge with the result that the longer duration peak surge requires a levee that is higher by approximately 0.8 m.     

Uncertainty assessment of a process-based integrated catchment model of phosphorus

Despite the many models developed for phosphorus concentration prediction at differing spatial and temporal scales, there has been little effort to quantify uncertainty in their predictions. Model prediction uncertainty quantification is desirable, for informed decision-making in river-systems management. An uncertainty analysis of the process-based model, integrated catchment model of phosphorus (INCA-P), within the generalised likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) framework is presented. The framework is applied to the Lugg catchment (1,077 km²), a River Wye tributary, on the England–Wales border. Daily discharge and monthly phosphorus (total reactive and total), for a limited number of reaches, are used to initially assess uncertainty and sensitivity of 44 model parameters, identified as being most important for discharge and phosphorus predictions. This study demonstrates that parameter homogeneity assumptions (spatial heterogeneity is treated as land use type fractional areas) can achieve higher model fits, than a previous expertly calibrated parameter set. The model is capable of reproducing the hydrology, but a threshold Nash-Sutcliffe co-efficient of determination (E or R ²) of 0.3 is not achieved when simulating observed total phosphorus (TP) data in the upland reaches or total reactive phosphorus (TRP) in any reach. Despite this, the model reproduces the general dynamics of TP and TRP, in point source dominated lower reaches. This paper discusses why this application of INCA-P fails to find any parameter sets, which simultaneously describe all observed data acceptably. The discussion focuses on uncertainty of readily available input data, and whether such process-based models should be used when there isn’t sufficient data to support the many parameters.     

Temporal Interpolation of Spatially Dynamic Polygons

In this study we compare two methods of interpolating simple metrics from polygons that change over time. Conventional methodology involves computing values of the metrics at points in time where the polygon is observed, and interpolating between these observed values to estimate values at other points in time. An alternative method applies interpolation techniques to the locations of vertices composing polygons are interpolated between observations and metrics are computed from the interpolated polygon shapes. We conducted a Monte Carlo simulation of both techniques using simulated polygons composed of varying numbers of vertices, which were allowed to move randomly over varying numbers of discrete time periods. We observed differences in the success of the two methods when applied to three metrics: Area, Perimeter, and Area/Perimeter Ratio. We found the two techniques to perform differently depending upon the metric being interpolated. Full results are presented and possible reasons why the techniques succeeded or failed under various conditions are discussed.     

Comparison of the maritime Sites and Monuments Record with side‐scan sonar and diver surveys: A case study from Rathlin Island,Ireland

Rathlin Island, off the north coast of Ireland, has a history of settlement and seafaring from the Late Mesolithic period to the present day. The maritime Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) for Rathlin indicates many wrecking incidents. In 1999, a reconnaissance side‐scan sonar survey confirmed the presence of 46 targets of possible archaeological potential around Rathlin Island. Thirteen of these anomalies were positively identified as shipwrecks. Of the remaining 33 targets, nine were dived on in order to ground‐truth the geophysical data. A successful and rapid methodology of ground‐truthing side‐scan sonar data for archaeological purposes was developed. The results confirmed the presence of a Danforth Anchor at one site, while the remaining anomalies were identified as geological features. The results from the side‐scan survey and diver‐truthing exercise enhanced the existing maritime SMR. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

基于点云的建筑立面模型快速重建

顾及建筑立面部件的语义信息、先验知识及其分布特征（如对称性、重复性）,提出了一种从点云快速重建建筑立面模型的方法,阐述了其基本思想及工作流程,该方法适当引入了人工交互及诱导,再辅之以自动搜索及识别算法,能够显著提高建模速度。实验证明,算法具有较高的可操作性及生产效率。     

3D SLAM激光影像背包测绘机器人精度验证

通过利用3D SLAM激光影像背包测绘机器人,进行了三维激光点云数据的采集,并直接对采集的点云数据进行了目标物尺寸量测,以验证其精度。试验验证表明,该仪器采集的数据精度为0.018 m。能满足1∶500地形图绘制要求,并可用于室内、室外等三维模型构建。